Deception
by csiAngel
Summary: AR. A deception leads to the revelation of hidden truths...
1. Chapter 1

Title: Deception  
Rating: T  
Summary: A deception leads to the revelation of hidden truths…  
Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica's premise and characters belong to Ron D Moore and co, I'm just borrowing them for entertainment purposes.  
Season: Set early season three. No specific place in the season timeline, so in that manner it's AU.  
Spoilers: Only for the events of the first few season three episodes  
A/N: This is the longest Battlestar Galactica fic I've ever written. I've stuck to short so far and not ventured into multiple chapters, but I hope it's ok. Thanks to Alza for reading this through for me. Enjoy! All feedback is welcomed.  
Please note: Chapters alternate between a 'present' timeline, and flashbacks starting three weeks earlier. Each is clearly labelled, I hope it's not confusing. And, providing the site co-operates, I should be posting all chapters tonight, so please bear with me :-)

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Deception, Day 22

"… The President will make a statement, and then you will be able to ask questions."

Tory stepped back from the podium and Laura took her place before the press. Resting one hand on either side of the wood, she looked out into the sea of reporters, each obviously anxiously awaiting what she had to say.

She swallowed hard, taking a deep breath for the courage to do what she knew she needed to.

"Good morning," she greeted them, glancing nervously to the back of the room where Bill was standing.

He offered her a nod of encouragement, and she smiled and continued.

"I'd like to ask that you don't interrupt me. As Tory explained, you will have an opportunity to ask questions. I'd appreciate it if I could get through my statement in one go." She looked down at her papers, her right hand leaving its grip on the podium to shuffle them a little, before she took another deep breath and faced the reporters again. "I had hoped this wouldn't be necessary," she stated, "but recent events and polling have shown that the development in my relationship with Admiral Adama has not been accepted as well as we had hoped within the fleet… I would like to assure everyone that it was never our intention to hide our relationship in the conspiratorial way that it seems to have been perceived. I'm sure many of you can understand that we simply wanted some time away from public scrutiny to adjust to the change ourselves… The fleet has always been our priority… And, as such, I have listened to the concerns expressed regarding conflict of interest, and lack of trust in our leadership…"

Mutterings and whisperings within the press corps indicated that they were sensing what was coming next.

"… And, in order to make you all feel more at ease, I will go immediately after this conference to the Quorum, and I will hand them my resignation…"

The murmurs grew louder, and gave Laura a chance to still her shaking hands and take another breath for confidence. To her side, Tory gestured for the reporters to settle down, and Laura offered them a weak smile. "I'm almost finished," she told them. "… Vice President Zarek will assume the office of the President until an election can be held. We are both aware that this government has not had an elected leader since New Caprica, and Vice President Zarek and I agree that holding an election as soon as possible would be in the best interest of the fleet…" She paused then, mentally preparing herself for the onslaught that would follow her next words. "Any questions?"

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	2. Chapter 2

Deception, Day 1…

Bill frowned as he read the piece of paper he held in his hand. His fingers were gripping it more tightly as he absorbed the words, leaving the page crumpled when he dropped it to his desk.

"This isn't the first one?" he asked the woman in front of him, his anger clear in his abrupt tone.

Laura Roslin adjusted her posture to be standing at her full height, ready to battle the accusation that she should have brought this to his attention sooner. "No, Admiral. There were four more before this one. One a week for the last three weeks, and then two this week."

"And you're just bringing this to me now?" he ground out, eyes narrowed and jaw tight.

"I didn't feel it necessary to involve you in this any sooner. You have had enough work to do on Galactica."

He seemed to concede to her point, and his demeanour changed slightly, his anger now seemingly only directed at whoever wrote the letter. "So why now?"

"That one is more threatening than the others. They started out as opinions on me spending time aboard Galactica; suggestions that I shouldn't do that; that a President shouldn't be too close to her military..." She didn't mention to him that she had been inclined to agree with such opinions, the words echoing what she frequently told herself when she found her thoughts wandering to her military's admiral.

"And then we were seen together at Starbuck's party," Bill commented, knowing from the letter that this event had caused the change in tone.

Laura nodded. "Apparently, my… penpal read far more into our dance than should have been inferred." Again, it wasn't worth mentioning that Laura herself had, at times since it took place, read more into their dance than should have been inferred.

Bill's eyes met hers, and for a moment he appeared to be deep in thought. Laura wondered if maybe her unspoken admission was revealed on her face and fought the urge to shift nervously.

"He actually thinks we're having an affair?" he spoke eventually.

"Or she," Laura nodded, glad of the reprieve from his intense studying, "And, evidently, he doesn't approve."

Bill sighed, and sat down behind his desk, so Laura took the opportunity to sit opposite him.

"I take it your security have been trying to trace the letters," he stated.

"Yes… But they haven't had much luck… It has served to highlight that we need some sort of labelling system to show which ship a piece of mail originated on."

"But if we implement that now, your 'friend' will disappear."

"I agree. That's why I haven't done it," she smiled.

He looked up and met her eyes, giving a small laugh. "Of course, sorry. That would in no way need to be a military decision."

Her smile widened. She couldn't very well admit it to him, but she liked that he thought of all decisions to do with the fleet to be joint ones. She liked the idea that they were a team.

"I think this threat against your security does come under the umbrella of the military though. If for no other reason than the fact that I'm not going to stand by while you're in danger… So we need a way to figure out who this is."

"Tory had some thoughts on that… That's actually why I'm here," she admitted reluctantly. She knew that would make it sound like she was forced to tell him about the letters, and didn't do it by choice.

He raised an eyebrow. "So, Tory told you to come?"

"I was planning to tell you anyway… As my friend," she assured him, hoping he could see the sincerity in her eyes. She had intended to tell him once Galactica was in full working order again, simply because she felt this inexplicable need to share everything with him. Well, it wasn't exactly inexplicable. She was just avoiding considering the explanation. "But Tory's idea for drawing this person out of the woodwork will require your help, so that gave me a deadline."

"What's the idea?" he asked.

"Provocation," she told him. "The letters gained momentum after the dance… Tory thinks we should – "

"Encourage this psychopath to carry out his threats?" he interrupted with disbelief.

"Bill, the only threat so far is to 'take further action'."

"Which could mean anything."

"Yes, but until he does 'take further action' we've no way of finding out who it is."

Bill made no immediate response to this. Laura waited patiently to see what he had to say next. "So what does she suggest?"

"Well, to start with I increase the amount of time I'm spending on Galactica… I'm already here almost every other day, so I'll stop by daily from now on… If that's all right with you?"

He nodded. "You're always welcome."

She smiled, gratefully. "Thank you… Of course, while I'm here, it needs to appear that you and I are spending time together, but that we're trying to hide the fact that we're spending time together."

Bill frowned. "We can spend time together, but how do you we make it appear that we're trying to hide it? If we hide it, then it's hidden."

"We need rumours. We need to almost be caught in compromising positions – "

He raised his eyebrows again, and she lifted her hands in defence. "This was Tory's idea…. And when almost caught we need flimsy excuses."

"It's beginning to sound like it might be simpler to search every ship in the fleet, taking handwriting samples until we identify the writer," he commented with the tiniest of smirks twitching at his lips.

Laura laughed, letting her head fall back a little, before she refocused on him. "I know we're asking a lot – "

"Protecting you is never too much to ask… I'm just not sure encouraging the threatening behaviour is the best way to go about it."

"I'm surrounded by security at all times, every place I go is checked and doubled checked, I'm safe enough. We might as well give it a shot. People get careless when they get angry. If he, or she, thinks I'm completely disregarding their advice, then they'll start to slip up… And while we're spending all this time together, maybe we'll come up with something even better."

Bill seemed to consider her words for a few seconds, and then he nodded. "Okay… We're going to need to let a few people in on this for it to work, but we'll begin our clandestine relationship… When would you like to be caught in our first compromising position?"

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	3. Chapter 3

Deception, Day 22 continued…

Laura slipped through the curtain, Tory following, leaving the chattering throng of reporters behind her. Zarek was waiting for her in her office, and Bill entered shortly after the two women did.

"How did it go?" Tom asked.

"Exactly as we expected it would," Tory replied. "Members of the Quorum will address the press in an hour, you'll be sworn in shortly afterwards."

"Is it wrong to feel pleased that they looked sad?" Laura asked with a small smile.

Tom laughed. "Of course they're sad. They're about to have to deal with me on a daily basis."

"Now, Tom, are you telling me the press don't look forward to their weekly 'Time With Tom'?" Laura grinned.

"They call it 'Zs With Zarek', Laura… For some reason they just don't find me interesting."

"You should have an affair with your military commander," Laura smirked.

"I'm taken," Bill muttered, stepping up beside Laura.

"My Gods, that would be interesting," Tory mumbled.

Laura laughed as she moved to sit at her desk, and the others all took seats in front of her. "Who knew when all this started that it would turn into such an elaborate plot?" she commented.

"Deception inevitably leads to complexity," Bill responded.

"Well let's hope this is as complicated as it gets… Although, it's going to be quite nice not having to face the press every day."

"Oh yeah," Tom spoke up, "What a hardship 'Laughs With Laura' must be. I've been in the next room when you're in with the press, you have them wrapped round your finger. Tell them an amusing tale, and they're putty in your hands. They love their sessions with you!… I hear them muttering about how much better they are than 'Zs With Zarek'."

"'Laughs With Laura'? They really call it that?"

Tom nodded. "They're big fans of yours."

"You'd never know it," she cringed, thinking of the interrogations they gave her.

"At least they should be quite forgiving when they find out you've lied to them," Tom pointed out.

"That's true… Let's hope the fleet is understanding."

"We've been through all this," Bill reminded her.

"I know," she nodded. "But I can still have doubts."

"Personally I'd have doubts about handing over the Presidency to Zarek, but – "

"We've been over that too," Laura finished for him with a smile.

"You two really have been spending too much time together," Tom muttered, standing. "I'm going to get some lunch before the 'swearing in' ceremony. Anyone else?"

Laura shook her head. "I'll eat on Galactica later… Tory, you should go though. Your workload isn't going to get any lighter any time soon."

Tory agreed and left with the Vice President, and Laura turned to Bill with a tentative smile.

"Remind me that I'm doing the right thing?" she asked him.

"You're doing the right thing… We need to bring this presidential candidate into the light so we can locate the group."

She nodded. "Thank you… I'd be a lot more convinced if you believed it, though."

"I do believe that it will work… So far they've followed every breadcrumb we've left for them… It's just been a long trail, and we've no way of knowing how much longer we'll be waiting."

"We should have done the handwriting samples," she smirked.

"It may have been quicker," he nodded, "but it would have been a lot less fun."

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	4. Chapter 4

Deception, Day 3…

"You look nervous," Bill commented, as Laura once more changed her position on the sofa, trying to decide what was most comfortable and would look most natural.

"I am a little… I've never been caught in a compromising position before."

"During your affair with Adar you never – "

Her eyes shot to him, and he stopped speaking. She hadn't intended to scare him into silence, she had simply been surprised that he had mentioned her relationship with Richard. They had never spoken about it before.

"How do you know about that?" she asked him.

His look was apologetic. "There were rumours. Before the attacks."

"And you just believed them?" She wasn't sure whether to feel hurt by that fact or not.

"I didn't care one way or the other – "

"Then or now?"

"Both… But we've spoken about unfounded rumours before, and you've never mentioned those, so I figured they must have been founded… I still didn't care. That question just came out. Please don't read anything into my asking, I – "

She waved a hand dismissively. "Let's not get into this. Do I look suitably ruffled?"

He took in her appearance, with a studious frown, and then crossed the room to stand in front of her. "No," was his simple answer, and then he perched on the edge of the sofa beside her. "Have you decided that's how you're going to be sitting?"

"Unless my leg goes dead before she gets here, yes."

"I think you'd be sitting up perfectly straight. Both feet on the floor, hands in your lap. Perhaps, subconsciously, thumb twiddling."

"You couldn't have offered that advice when you saw me shuffling about?"

"I was enjoying watching you," he smiled.

She really wished he wouldn't smile like that. Or at all. So far she had only spent about two hours more with him than she might ordinarily, and she was finding herself very easily distracted by his smile. Distracted into daydreaming about being in his arms, swaying slowly to the music at the party last week; the way he smiled to her as they spoke quietly about the other couples on the floor, as they were equally surprised by some of the pairings; the way his hold on her had tightened slightly when she managed to trip over her own feet; the way…

And there she went again.

"Laura?" Bill asked, waving a hand in front of her eyes.

"Sitting up straight. Okay," she said, adjusting her seating and finding it brought her much closer to Bill. Her heart rate instantly increased, and she cursed her apparently fifteen year-old body.

"Right… Because, if we'd been - … you know… on the sofa when someone knocked on the hatch, then instinct would be to sit up as straight as possible when we jumped apart."

"You've given this a lot of thought," she commented, hoping her cheeks weren't as flushed as they felt.

"It needs to look realistic," he said quietly, as his right hand slowly rose towards her cheek.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, eyes wide.

"You need to look realistically ruffled," he replied, as if it should have been obvious.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak as his hand connected softly, briefly, with her cheek and threaded into her hair.

"I imagine I'd have had one hand here… and the other," his left hand found her hip, "here… So when I was kissing you, your hair probably would have been disturbed like this," he explained, as he began slow circles with his hand in her hair, massaging the back of her head, "and I most likely would have dislodged your shirt here," he said, pulling said fabric out of her skirt. "You wouldn't have had time to fix that."

She may have been simply imagining it, some sort of wishful thinking, but his voice seemed to lower in volume with his last utterance, as he looked into her eyes as he spoke.

"Very thorough," she remarked, injecting as much force into her words as she could muster. There was no way she was letting him see how affected she was by his proximity, or his hands on her body.

"It's as realistic as it can be without us actually – "

A knock at the hatch broke them apart, and Bill swept from the sofa, as Laura sat ramrod straight and tried not to think about the position they had just been in.

"Come," Bill called, and seconds later, Dualla was standing before them, a report in her hand.

The young woman smiled pleasantly when she saw Bill, and she handed him the report. And then she appeared to grow uneasy when she noticed Laura sitting on the sofa.

"Madam President, I … I'm sorry I didn't realise you were in here," she stuttered, her eyes darting between her two superiors, predictably taking in their appearances.

Laura shook her head, feeling her cheeks heating up. "We had some things to discuss," she delivered their lie. "Supplies," she added, at the same time that Bill offered, "Maintenance plans."

They glanced at each other, as planned, and then each repeated the other's excuse.

"Supplies and maintenance plans," Bill said, finally. "Thank you, Dee. That will be all."

Dualla saluted and then left them alone, closing the hatch behind her. Their eyes met split seconds later, and they both burst out laughing.

"I think that went well," Bill commented.

_Probably because I actually felt like she interrupted something_, Laura thought. "She looked suitably embarrassed," she voiced. "But will she share what she saw with anyone else?"

"She might not tell Lee… But she'll gossip to someone. Dee has to log all your flights over here… And now she'll think that each time you're here you spend your time in my quarters, and not in the Ward Room as your schedule implies."

"So we just need to give a few more people reason to think that, and these rumours should filter out into the fleet soon enough."

Bill nodded. "And Starbuck's going to throw another party next week, so there's a prime opportunity to get people talking."

"You're enjoying this," she accused, loving the gleam in his eyes, discovering a fun side of Admiral Adama that she suspected few people ever saw.

"It makes a change from the day to day running of the fleet. And I like spending time with you."

She felt her heart skip a beat, and inwardly groaned. She had to control this reaction to him or she was never going to survive this with her sanity intact.

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	5. Chapter 5

Deception, Day 22 continued…

"It's not supposed to be fun, Bill. This is about protecting my life!" Laura countered.

Bill sat forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. "You're not okay with this," he stated.

"No I'm not," she admitted with a heavy sigh. "In the beginning, I thought it was just another piece of hate mail. They usually get bored and stop sending them… In fact up until the revelation that it's not just one person it's a whole group, I was still of that opinion… I never expected it would go this far… I hate that we don't know what they are capable of. I hate that we don't know who we're dealing with. I hate that it's been three frakking weeks and we are no closer to knowing any of those things… And are we even in control of this situation, Bill? I feel as if they're controlling this - "

"We're in control, Laura," Bill interrupted her. "You're still the President… And we can still stop this. Just say the -"

"I don't want to stop this… I think we've established it's the easiest way to find them, if they are in fact as gullible as they've proven to be so far."

"Some people'll believe anything," Bill smiled.

Laura met his eyes, and felt herself relax. Much of her nervousness during the press conference had been feigned for realism, but in truth she had been growing more and more anxious as this progressed. The few weeks had been a surreal blur. She had agreed to Tory's plan, probably because she liked the idea of compromising positions with Bill – though she would never admit to that, even in conversation with herself – and had become tangled up in the web of lies they were weaving. The plan worked, the letters increased in volume and anger, and it turned out they were dealing with a group of people who felt the President could no longer act objectively in her role, and they knew of someone who could. As rumours increased further, their demands for Laura's resignation grew, and threats that they would be forced to take action arrived daily. And yet still the investigation team put in place could not even narrow the location of the group to a particular ship – or even to within five.

It was Tigh who had come up with the suggestion of staging Laura's resignation. Giving them what they were asking for, leading them to reveal the identity of this presidential candidate. Bill had shot him down, but a placating hand on his arm had been joined by Laura asking for further details of the plan.

And, now, here they were.

"Evidently, it isn't too far fetched," she smiled back.

He nodded once. "Either that or we're really good actors."

She laughed. "I did a little acting when I was in college. Mary Blake in 'Not This Week'."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "I saw a college production of that in Caprica City… probably around the time you were at college."

A grin slowly spread across Laura's lips. "I did one night of a five night run, because I got laryngitis. My understudy was good. You probably saw her."

Bill chuckled. "So when you said 'a little acting'…"

"Yes… But we've done well… I mean even your own son believed it."

"Oh don't," Bill groaned. "He's still whining that he wasn't told of the plan in the first place… I'm tired of explaining that we needed his reaction to be genuine – "

Laura giggled at the memory. "And he didn't disappoint."

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	6. Chapter 6

Deception, Day 6…

"Bill, I can't seem to find my – " Laura resisted the urge to laugh at the open-mouthed shock on Lee's face as she sauntered into Bill's office, with one towel wrapped around her body, and another secured on her head. "Sorry, Lee, I didn't realise you were … here. I'll…" She glanced at Bill and they exchanged shy smiles, as per the plan. "… Go get dressed." She gestured back the way she had come, and then turned, finally able to release her grin as she walked away.

Minutes later, when she returned, fully clothed, Lee looked like he had been frozen in position since she left.

"I'm sorry, again," she told him, as she sat down opposite the two men. "I must have been in the shower when you arrived. Early," she added, just so he would know it was his own fault he had stumbled into this. Of course, Lee had arrived early to every meeting she'd had with the two Adama men since the exodus from New Caprica. Laura doubted he'd ever be doing that again, though.

"Erm… It's okay," the younger man stuttered.

Bill cleared his throat. "You understand the need for your discretion, Lee… I offered the President use of my private facilities while she's on board Galactica."

Lee nodded. "Of course."

Meanwhile Laura and Bill stole painstakingly obvious 'surreptitious' shy glances at one another, and Lee was a distinctly darker shade of pink when they returned their eyes to him.

Laura picked up her agenda for the meeting, and glanced at the first item. "So, repairs on Galactica are complete. There are three ships whose FTL drives could do with overhauls before we have to make too many more jumps – " She stopped when she realised Lee didn't seem to be listening to her. He was staring at the coffee table.

"Lee?… Commander?"

His head snapped up to face her.

She smiled sweetly. "Are you all right?"

"I'm…" He looked from her to his father, and then back again. "Is this some sort of set up?"

Frowns were exchanged between the two leaders this time, hoping that they had masked their momentary panic behind confusion.

"What?" Bill asked.

"You've been speaking to Dee."

Laura shook her head. "No… You think your wife is trying to set you up?"

Before Lee had chance to respond, Bill spoke. "You think the President is involved in a conspiracy with your wife to set you up?"

Lee looked at his father, and was silent for a beat before he smiled. "It sounds crazy when you say it."

Laura let out a laugh. "And yet it didn't when you said it?"

Lee shook his head. "There have been… rumours about the two of you, and Dee's been making sure I know what they all are."

"What kind of rumours?" Laura asked, as Bill posed the question, "Rumours?"

Lee frowned at them, still looking somewhat suspicious, and then sat back in his seat. "Rumours that would only intensify if the gossipmongers on board knew that you were in here taking a shower."

Lee was no doubt expecting shock, so Laura and Bill looked at each other with worry, holding a silent conversation they knew Lee could accurately interpret.

"Oh my Gods!" he declared, standing from his seat, and pacing a couple of steps. "It's true… Dee is never going to let me live down that she was right." He looked back at them. "Gods, it's true… Okay… You don't really need me for this meeting do you? I can go, right? I need to… er… think."

He looked to Bill for permission to leave, and from the look on Bill's face, he was as bemused by Lee's reaction as Laura was. Bill nodded, and Lee left, still talking to himself.

They sat in silence for a moment, staring at the closed hatch, and then Laura turned to Bill, unshed tears of amusement in her eyes. "Do you think we should have told him the truth?" she squeaked, covering her mouth with her hand to smother her laughter.

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	7. Chapter 7

Deception, Day 22

Two hours after the press conference…

Laura collapsed onto the couch, flicking her shoes off her feet as she did so.

"Make yourself at home," Bill remarked as he walked over to get them both a glass of water.

"Oh I intend to," she grinned. "I just quit my job for you. I'm going to be spending a lot of time here."

Bill laughed once and handed her a glass before sitting down beside her. "People will talk," he smirked.

She smiled slowly. "Let them."

Silence fell as they both took drinks of their water, and then Laura lowered hers to her lap, tapping her fingernails on the edge of the glass as she said, "You know our polling actually showed that most people approve of our relationship."

"Really?" he asked. "You did poll beyond Galactica, right?"

She kicked him playfully in the leg. "Yes we did… And apparently, among female voters in particular – though the opinion was expressed by many of the men also – our blossoming relationship showed hope and romance, both of which are rare now… The other great explanation among the men was that it shows you're never too old."

Bill's eyes widened and she laughed.

"It's what they said," she shrugged as she raised her glass to her lips once more.

"I wonder whether they were referring to you or to me," he muttered, quickly hiding behind his own glass.

She kicked him again, but he caught hold of her foot. She froze. He grinned, slowly lowering his glass, and leaning over to place it on the table.

"Please don't," she pleaded. "See, I still have my water, and we wouldn't want – "

Her words were interrupted by a scream when he ran his fingers across the bottom of her foot. She just about managed to keep the glass upright, and the remaining water inside.

"You might want to put the glass down," Bill suggested.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "No."

He tickled her foot again.

"What did I ever do to you?" she screamed.

"You kicked me," he shrugged.

"You really shouldn't tickle a woman who's holding a glass of water, Bill."

"You're doing well at not spill – "

She threw the contents of the glass at him. He stopped tickling her, and glared at her; water dripping down his face.

"You were saying?" she asked, face straight with no small amount of effort.

"Bad move, Laura," he growled, reaching over and taking the glass from her hand.

"You deserved it, Bill… Now, kindly let go of my foot."

He held her gaze a moment longer, and then nodded. "Certainly."

He released her foot, but as she adjusted her seating, to ensure her feet were out of reach, he swept across the couch and his hands made contact with her hips.

"A really bad move," he whispered, then his fingers moved.

She screamed again, and wriggled within his grasp, but he had a tight hold on her, and she wasn't going anywhere.

"Stop it!" she squealed through laughter she could not control.

"But you deserve it," he told her. "You threw water over me."

"And I'd do it again!"

"So you can understand why I'm not going to stop," he laughed.

She continued to fight, and he continued to ignore her pleas, until a knock on the hatch made him stop. He pulled back from her, leaving her breathing deeply to try to catch her breath.

The knock at the hatch was repeated.

"Are you going to respond to that?" she asked him, while straightening out her clothes.

"Don't you think this situation looks a little… suspicious?"

Laura couldn't help but smile as she considered what the scene actually would look like to an outsider. It was still rather obvious that Bill had had water thrown over him – either that or he had been sweating profusely, which would probably look even more suspicious; and she was flushed and breathing more rapidly than usual.

"Bill, it would hardly be the first time someone has misinterpreted what they've walked in on here."

"But this wasn't planned."

Her brow creased a little as she briefly pondered why he was suddenly being so obtuse. "As far as most people out there know, none of the other times were planned either… Of course, this is probably all irrelevant now, because they probably got bored and - "

There was another knock at the hatch.

"Come," Bill called, standing up, and straightening his uniform.

Laura considered that she should have guessed it was Starbuck on the other side of the hatch. Only she or Saul Tigh would dare to knock three times on the Admiral's hatch.

"Finally!" the pilot exclaimed as she entered the room. "I was ready for just walking in, I figured you may have been incap – " She stopped when she noticed Laura. "Ah."

Bill sent her his best glare, but it didn't stop her from smirking.

"I'd have thought you could stop this now your relationship's out in the open," she teased. "But if you still want rumours then I can oblige."

"Did you want something, Kara?" Bill asked her.

"You mean apart from juicy gossip?"

Her eyes sparkled, and Laura couldn't help but giggle. Bill really did not look amused.

"Yes," he replied, plainly.

"I just wanted to report that we have confirmation that news of the President's resignation has reached all ships in the fleet. And our communications with the Quorum are in place. They will relay to us the name and location of anyone who puts themselves forward as a candidate, and my team will start security searches."

"Good… Anything else?"

"Yeah… I know you've just been forced to 'resign', due to public opinion and pressure, and I know that's very important to you, both. So I thought you should know that the current murmur is that you need to be married if you're going to live together."

"You're dismissed."

Kara nodded, offered an exaggerated salute and wide grin, turned and left.

"She is definitely the right person for this job," Laura commented as Bill collected their glasses and went to pour them some more water.

"She's having too much fun."

"I seem to recall accusing you of the same thing," she said pointedly. "And are you sure you want me to be in possession of water again?"

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	8. Chapter 8

Deception, Day 9…

Laura stood at the podium, Bill behind her to her right, and Tory to her left, and she waited, patiently, for the press to settle down, with the same look of 'I'm waiting for silence, and you're only wasting your own time' that she used to use when teaching.

One reporter in the third row seemed to realise what the look meant, and word quickly spread throughout the room. Silence reigned within seconds.

"Thank you," Laura smiled. "I need what I am about to tell you distributed to the fleet as soon as possible so preparations can begin. I'll speak, I'll take two questions and then this is over… One of the pilots aboard the Galactica came to me two days ago with a suggestion… I gave it some thought, and agreed that it is a good idea and so I took it to the Quorum…

"We have been… struggling since New Caprica, times have been difficult again, it almost felt like we were reliving our first days out here. But we continue to strive. For survival. For life. Every day we show that humanity cannot be destroyed. We have been through so much, but we haven't sat down and given up… And that should be embraced. Each and every one of you should be celebrated… And so, I would like to decree that tomorrow, and that date every year from now on, will be Colonial Fleet Day. A symbol of our unity, of our strength, of our courage." She paused to allow her words to sink in, and then added, "Okay, two questions… Matthews."

"Will Colonial Fleet Day replace Colonial Day?"

Laura shook her head. "We will still observe Colonial Day. A celebration of our history, and our roots… Colonial Fleet Day is about the present and the future… Playa?"

"Do you have a response to the rumours about your relationship with Admiral Adama?"

Laura smiled at the reporter. "I'm afraid I must be out of the gossip circle… Okay, that's all. Thank you very much."

Laura turned, and Bill fell into step beside her, intentionally placing his hand on the small of her back as they disappeared behind the curtain.

They definitely heard a couple of comments of 'did you see that?' as they left.

"I really do think it's a very good idea," Laura commented as they walked into her office.

"I noticed," Bill quipped.

She rolled her eyes, and perched on the edge of her desk, facing him as he sat down. "No, it really is… I know Starbuck was just looking for reasons to have the press at tomorrow's party, but… Colonial Fleet Day. I like it. We'll keep it."

Bill nodded. "Good."

"So we should finalise our plans for tomorrow… Exactly what are we to be seen doing at the first Colonial Fleet Day celebration?"

"Well dancing seemed to cause enough controversy last time."

Laura nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. We'll dance… I like dancing with you." She smiled, and was rewarded with one of Bill's smiles in return.

"Do you think you could manage not to trip over your own feet this time?"

Laura laughed, leaning forward and letting her head fall into her hand. Then she straightened up again, flicking her hair back over her shoulders. "What can I say," she shrugged, "you… sweep me off my feet."

Bill released a laugh of his own, and her sparkling eyes met his, electrifying the air between them for a moment before Bill spoke again.

"So, just dancing?" he asked.

Laura raised an eyebrow and smirked as he realised how his words could be interpreted, then she relaxed back to neutral. "Well… we could… dance slightly closer together, laugh less about the people around us, and appear more… lost in each other." _Much the way I'm feeling now_, she added to herself, as she gazed into his eyes.

"Okay… And we can always ad-lib. We did okay at that with Lee."

Laura nodded slowly, then the image of Lee's face came back to her. "We really should tell him the truth," she suggested. "I'm not enjoying seeing him practically run in the opposite direction when he sees me coming." Her laughter as she spoke almost contradicted her words.

Bill stood, clearly preparing to leave. "I'll tell him tonight," he said as he stood in front of her.

She stood as well. "I think that's good… Although, his face at the party tomorrow would be priceless, if we didn't tell him."

"I'm seeing a wicked side of you lately, Roslin."

She grinned as wickedly as she could. "Roslin?" she queried.

"Yeah. I decided that would just be my pet name for you… 'Cupcake' didn't suit you."

"No," she agreed. "Okay…" She couldn't help grinning again as she imagined his reaction to her next question. "Can I call you Adamalama?"

"No."

"Okay," she smiled. "I'll think of something else."

"Good."

There was another electricity filled silence, and then Bill said, "I should head back… I'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded. "Good luck with Lee."

Bill grunted and rolled his eyes, then left a giggling Laura behind him.

-----


	9. Chapter 9

Deception, Day 22 continued…

Bill placed his own drink on the coffee table, and then paused, eyeing Laura with suspicion as he held hers out to her.

"I'd like to think I can trust you with this," he commented.

She looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes. "Would you?"

"Can I?" he asked, dryly – well, as dryly as one can when they're still a little moist from having water thrown over them earlier.

She just shrugged, a slow smile creeping across her lips.

Bill retracted his hand. "You'll go thirsty each time you're in my quarters," he told her.

"Oh come on," she said, giggling, and reaching out for the glass.

So easy to fool, Bill handed it over, and she immediately covered him with the water, biting her lip to stop from laughing out loud.

She saw the anger tense his features.

"Right."

And then she screamed as he flew towards her. She managed to stand from the couch, but he grabbed her round the waist and lifted her from the floor, kicking and hitting at him to be put down.

He ignored her demands and carried her into the head, careful that her flailing limbs didn't hit anything.

"Oh no!" she squealed as she realised what he was doing. "Bill, no!… I'm sorry… I'm sorry!"

He deposited her in the shower stall and turned her round to face him.

She looked at him with apologetic (but laughing) eyes, and asked, "How is this fair revenge?"

He looked down at his water-stained jacket. "I'm wet," he stated, then he switched on the shower, and through her screams as the cold water collided with her, she heard him continue, "You're wet."

He looked victorious as she glared at him through the stream of water, and, of course, she couldn't have that. Her hand shot out and gripped the front of his jacket, and she pulled with as much strength as she could muster.

She was the first to admit she hadn't quite thought it through, when the motion caused him to trip on the edge of the shower stall, and he ended up pinning her against the wall, his head in her chest.

But, he was as soaked as she was, so it wasn't entirely a mistake. In fact, she was having trouble coming up with any reason as to why it was a mistake at all.

He secured his footing, and straightened up, still resting his hands either side of her where she was backed into the corner. She encountered a glare as his eyes found hers, and she simply smiled innocently in response. "I'm wet. You're wet," she told him sweetly.

He glared at her a moment longer and then the absurdity of the situation seemed to hit them both at the same time.

Laura dropped her head to his trembling chest as they both laughed.

When the water had matted her hair against her cheek, she lifted her head again, and brushed it back, looking at a now much more relaxed Bill with a smile.

"What are we doing?" she enquired, softly.

Bill's eyes took in their surroundings before returning to hers. "Taking a shower?"

She giggled, and rested her head back against the wall – where the water hit it less. "People will talk." She echoed his earlier words.

"Do we care?" he asked, and the roughness of his voice, and intensity of his stare sent a nervous ripple through her body.

"Well," she said, and then quietly cleared her throat when the word failed to come out with much force at all, "The polling showed that… the people – "

A familiar voice shouting Bill's name from out in his quarters cut her short. She felt the giggles rising up from her chest and quickly slapped a hand across her mouth to stop them.

Bill rolled his eyes and shut off the water, grabbing a towel as he walked out of the head.

Laura desperately fought against the bubbling humour within her, and, lacking the energy to stand as well, she allowed herself to slide into a sitting position.

She heard Bill greet Saul, and then after a short silence – during which Laura could picture the latter taking in Bill's clothed, yet soaked appearance – Saul's voice asked, "What the frak?"

A squeak escaped before Laura could stop it.

"What was that?"

"What?" Bill covered, pretending he hadn't heard anything. Or maybe he hadn't.

"Sounded like a mouse."

"A mouse? On a battlestar?"

"What were you doing in there?"

"The shower wouldn't work this morning. I was fixing it… Needless to say, it works now."

Several clearly identifiable giggles escaped this time, and tears streamed down Laura's face as she fought to hold back the rest.

"Did you want something, Saul?" she heard Bill ask, and wished she could see both men's faces.

"Yeah… It can wait though. Clearly you're busy." She could hear the smirk in Saul's tone. "And besides, I can't take you seriously like that."

And then there was silence, and a few seconds later, Bill appeared in the doorway of the head, looking as far from amused as Laura was firmly encamped there.

She managed two more seconds and then the dam she had constructed so flimsily in the first place collapsed completely, and she curled into a ball as laughter tore through her body.

-----


	10. Chapter 10

Deception, Day 10, Colonial Fleet Day…

Bill finished reading the third letter, placing it on his desk before looking over at Laura, who was waiting impatiently to go to the party.

"It's working then," he commented, making his way round the desk.

"Yes it is," she confirmed. "Now, can we go?"

"You're so impatient," he countered, picking up his jacket from the couch and shrugging it on.

"We're late!" she reminded him, as she flicked his hands out of the way and took over fastening the buttons.

"I can dress myself," he remarked, but he made no attempt to stop her.

"But you don't do it quickly enough."

"Says the woman who spent two hours doing her hair – "

He stopped abruptly, and Laura looked up, brow furrowed in question. "What's wrong?"

"We sound like an old married couple," he informed her, his face completely serious, and close to horrified.

She laughed and finished up fastening his jacket. "Don't look so terrified," she said as she straightened his collar. "Being married to me wouldn't be that bad."

"I'll have to take your word for that."

She smiled, knowingly. "Ah, according to one rumour Tory heard, you'll find out for yourself in three weeks."

"They're marrying us off?"

"Apparently it's the next logical step for us."

"How long do they think we've been having this affair?"

She shrugged, checking her own appearance to make sure they were finally ready to leave. "It varies. Some think it's recent, others think it started on New Caprica. Apparently she also heard that we already are married."

"Hmm… Well we're certainly acting like it."

"Yes," she responded, facing him full on now she was sure she was presentable, "Acting, Bill." She tilted her head to one side. "So don't look so worried."

He locked his eyes onto hers, and her stomach fluttered when his lips curved into a small smile. "I'm not worried." He kept his eyes on her as he crossed the last few steps and opened the hatch. "After you, Mrs Adama."

She laughed as she approached him. "Oh that will definitely quell those rumours," she said quietly as she passed him.

The guards closed the hatch after them, and Bill offered Laura his arm as they walked through the corridors to the disused hangar bay that had been decorated for the occasion.

"We're not supposed to be quelling rumours," Bill countered, equally quietly.

"No," she whispered back, "But I much prefer the rumours where our relationship is new, and exciting, and we're so completely besotted we can't keep our hands off each other and that's why we keep being caught in compromising positions," she grinned, glancing up at him.

He moved his face closer to her ear to speak even more softly. "So if the two airmen who are about twenty feet behind us, and are trying to hang back so we won't know they're there, were to see us glance round and then disappear into the next storage room, that would fuel the right kind of rumours?"

Laura prayed that the heat she could feel coursing through her veins was not showing through her skin, and forced a smile that she hoped didn't show precisely how much she thought his suggestion was a good idea. "Yes. That would be fine."

As she replayed her words in her mind to check they had sounded natural, and not at all… aroused…, Bill must have put the plan into action, for the next thing she knew, a hatch was open and she was being ushered through.

She willingly followed where he led, and glanced round at her new surroundings while Bill secured the hatch.

"They'll run straight to the party now, and tell a few people why we're not there yet," Bill smirked.

Laura returned his smile. "And in the meantime, we'll…?" she trailed off questioningly.

Bill shrugged. "Talk?"

Laura laughed and glanced round for something to sit on. Finding a stack of boxes, she tentatively leaned on them first to make sure they wouldn't collapse, and then she sat down.

Silence fell, and Laura looked anywhere but at Bill. She was well aware of what they could be doing while they were in there; she was well aware of what everyone would think that they did while in there; and there was a part of her that was trying to taunt her with the fact that, if everyone was going to think it anyway, they might as well just go ahead and do it.

With Bill in such close proximity, and smelling so damn good, it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore that part of her.

It was Bill suddenly sighing thoughtfully that returned her full attention to him.

"The things I do to protect you," he muttered wistfully.

She would have kicked him – playfully of course – if she could have reached.

"You realise this one looks far more suspicious than the other compromising positions?… Those could easily be explained away. Us in a storage room together, doesn't exactly lend itself to believable cover stories."

"Ah, but you underestimate me," Bill said, moving past Laura and to some boxes at the very back of the room.

"Do you want a hand?" she offered as she watched him rearranging.

"No, I'm fine," he declined, as he lifted the lid off one box, and began rooting through it.

"What are you looking for?" she asked.

He didn't answer until he had pulled a bottle of wine from the box, and turned to face her again. "You really are impatient."

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he continued, holding up the wine.

"We stopped by here for me to get this out of storage for you, to give to Starbuck for coming up with the idea for Colonial Fleet Day."

"So this wasn't as spontaneous as it appeared? You had planned to lure me into a storage room," she teased.

"The idea came to me when I realised we were being watched…" he explained, "I realised it would work when I remembered this was in here."

"Ah. Quick thinking, Admiral."

"Thank you, Madam President. Shall we go join the party?"

"I think that's wise," _because it's far too hot in here_, "before the party relocates to this corridor to see if the latest rumour is true."

-----


	11. Chapter 11

Deception, Day 22 continued…

By the time Laura had managed to stop laughing Bill was no longer in the doorway. She picked herself up from the floor, and let out a few more giggles as she looked at her drenched suit.

With a sigh, she stepped out of the shower stall, and immediately spotted Bill's bathrobe hanging up by the door. She took a step towards it and then stopped. She could hardly just get undressed and walk out wearing his robe. That would be far too presumptuous.

She moved to the mirror, and made an attempt at making her hair look less crazy, and then she walked out into his quarters.

Bill was sitting on the couch, reading a report. He'd changed his clothes, she noted.

"I didn't think you would ever stop laughing," he quipped as she removed her jacket and sat down next him. "I was about to call Cottle."

She began to laugh again, but his hand reached over and landed gently, but suddenly, across her lips, startling her into silence.

"Please don't start again."

She narrowed her eyes at him, and took hold of his hand to move it so she could speak. "You're within kicking distance you know."

"And you're within tickling distance," he retorted.

She held his gaze a moment longer, and then they both nodded, conceding to the stalemate situation. They exchanged smiles, and then she realised she still had hold of his hand.

"Sorry," she muttered, pulling her hand away.

But he caught hold of her fingers. She glanced down at their hands and then up to him, her heart pounding in her chest with anticipation.

"If you want to get out of those wet clothes, I can find you some sweats… They'll probably bury you," he joked, "But at least that'd be better than you oozing water all over my couch."

She smiled at his humour, and then it slipped into shyness as she quietly said, "Your bathrobe looked quite inviting."

"Feel free," he said, letting go of her hand and gesturing towards the head.

She felt her eyes light up. "Thank you. This material is so clingy when it's wet." She stood from the couch and headed back towards the cotton comfort, commenting, "I never pictured you as a bathrobe kind of guy," as she went.

She stopped as soon as she heard the words leave her lips, realising how that could be interpreted. She turned and slowly walked back, finding Bill regarding her with an amused expression.

"Not that I imagined that you walk round naked instead," she stated. Then she realised how _that_ sounded. "That didn't come out - …" she held up her hands in surrender. "I should just stop," she nodded, feeling another bout of the giggles creeping up on her as the utter ridiculousness of the moment sunk in.

"Are you all right?" Bill asked, knowing exactly what was happening.

She bit her lips, and shook her head.

"_Should_ I call Cottle?" he smirked.

"I just can't do this!" she exclaimed, dropping her head into her hands with frustration.

"Do what?" he asked, and her head jerked up with surprise at how much closer he was. He had crossed the room and was now a couple of feet in front of her.

"What?" she queried, completely thrown by his stealthy movement.

"You can't do what?" he reiterated, looking at her with a mixture of concern, and something she couldn't place.

She just stared at him for a few seconds, assessing the best way to answer him; considering whether or not it was a good idea to tell him that she couldn't take the sexual tension anymore and felt like she might explode.

In the end she decided that whatever she did say, it needed to be done in a much more calm and rational manner. She was, after all – although not in title at the time – the President of the Colonies. There was a certain level of maturity and dignity that she should display at all times. And so, she took a deep, calming breath, straightened her posture, tried to ignore that her clothes were still pretty wet, and attempted a response.

"This, Bill," she said evenly. "What are we doing?"

From the look in his eyes, and the lack of reply, she could tell he knew what she meant.

"We have spent weeks creating situations so that people could 'misinterpret' them and spread rumours that we're involved in a – sometimes physically impossible – sexual relationship… And now that our supposed relationship is out in the open, we're stumbling into these situations anyway… We were in the shower together, Bill."

"Clothed," he pointed out.

She nodded once. "Yes. But," her throat felt thick as her next words ran through her mind before she voiced them, "… if Saul hadn't come in?"

The air was heavy now with the magnitude of what they were discussing. Bill was silent for what felt like an eternity, then his voice was rough when he said, "We have letters to show why it's not a good idea."

She nodded again. "Yes we do… And I have poll results that show it's a minority that feel that – "

She was stopped by his fingers on her lips again.

"Laura… This morning's charade was hard enough for you. You don't want to give up your Presidency."

She took hold of his raised hand and lowered it until she held it between them. "No," she whispered, letting her eyes fall to their joined hands as she played with his fingers. And in that moment, she came to a decision. She held her head high and faced him again. "But I don't want to give you up, either."

-----


	12. Chapter 12

Deception, Day 10, Colonial Fleet Day

One hour and fourteen minutes after the storage room…

"…So, it just remains," Laura drew her speech to a conclusion, "to say thank you to the woman who came up with the idea for today. Kara – Starbuck – Thrace."

There was shouting, wolf-whistling and applause from the crowd, and a bright red Starbuck was pushed through it, to where the President stood at the front.

Laura smiled at the embarrassment on the brash pilot's face, and handed her the bottle of wine. "Thank you, Starbuck," she said, hugging the younger woman as the crowd continued to cheer.

When they pulled apart, Starbuck studied the bottle. "Ah, so you really were retrieving wine from that storage room," she remarked, loudly enough that the now settling crowd were able to hear her.

Laura felt the blush run up her neck, and her ears burned red. Starbuck grinned at her.

"It all fuels the rumours, Madam President," she offered quietly before winking at a still shocked Laura and disappearing back into the crowd. A crowd Laura realised were, thankfully, no longer interested in her.

"I take it Kara knows, then," Lee commented, stepping up beside her as she fought to regain her composure.

"Oh, Lee… Yes. She does… I'm sorry we didn't – "

"It's okay," he interrupted her.

"We needed your – "

"Dad's explained… It's fine. I believe the mental scarring will fade in time."

Laura laughed, and found that she instantly felt more relaxed. She had not been enjoying the knowing looks she had been receiving from many members of the crew. At times she had felt like declaring that she was still the President, and they should be ashamed for thinking such thoughts, but then she had remembered it was what she had wanted, and they could hardly be reprimanded for falling right into her trap.

"The press are watching you like hawks," Lee observed, and Laura glanced round the room, noticing a reporter at every angle.

"They're looking for any corroborating evidence at all… In fact me talking to you, is probably proof that I'm involved with your father… I mean we never spoke did we, you and I, before I became next in line to be your wicked stepmother?"

Lee laughed. "You seem a little exasperated."

Laura sighed. "Sometimes I hate that my private life is so public. Well, right now, the private life that is public isn't my private life at all… But I currently don't have a private life, because I'm too busy faking one for the public… Does that make sense?"

Lee laughed again and then nodded. "You should dance."

"Are you asking?"

"No – "

"But I am."

Laura swivelled round to face Bill who had appeared behind her. "Were you just listening in waiting for your cue?"

"Isn't that what an actor does?"

Laura smiled, and turned back to Lee. "Thank you, Lee."

Lee shrugged. "Try not to embarrass me too much, okay?… Remember the people spreading the rumours can use their imaginations to embellish. You don't have to do – "

Bill cut him off with a glare, and guided Laura away from him and out into the space designated as a dance floor. He took her hand in one of his, and placed the other on her hip, waiting until her hand was rested on his shoulder, before beginning to move to the music.

"Are you okay?" he asked her after a few seconds of silently gliding round the floor.

"You were listening," she accused.

"You've been… odd since we were in the storage room."

"I'm tired," she told him. "It's hard work leading a triple life."

His brow furrowed and she smiled.

"My Presidential life, my lover of William Adama life," she said, subconsciously nestling closer to him as she spoke, "and my Laura Roslin life. Although, I do only experience the latter when I'm sleeping at the moment."

"And you miss her?"

"Perhaps a little. I miss reality… There's a lot of acting in politics. And there's a lot of acting in acting. But, I guess there's a little of Laura in both as well," she smiled.

"I'm glad to hear it," Bill smiled. "I happen to like Laura."

"More than President Roslin?" Laura asked, feigning shock.

Bill nodded pensively. "Yeah. More than President Roslin… But probably less than 'Roslin'."

Laura smiled brightly, remembering their conversation the previous afternoon. "Oh, I haven't thought of a new pet name for you… Are you sure I can't – "

"No!" he stalled her abruptly.

"Okay," she pouted.

They continued to sway across the dance floor, and she pretended she was thinking about a pet name for him and not memorising the way it felt to be in his arms. If they hadn't been surrounded by the press and hundreds of other people, she pondered, then she might just lean up and kiss him. It would be so easy. Her lips curved into a small smile as she thought about what his reaction might be.

"What are you smiling about?"

She brought her mind back to the present. "I was just thinking how well Adamalama suits you," she smirked, "but, as you don't like it… I'm just going to call you…" She lowered her voice, and rolled his name off her lips, "…Bill… Not very imaginative I know, but - "

"But when you say it like that…" He trailed off, his eyes fixed on hers with a look that spoke volumes about what he wasn't saying.

They had stopped moving, she realised, and with that realisation came the fact that the noise level around them had decreased, and a surreptitious peak to the side told her the reporters had moved closer.

She forced a smile through the nervous tension, and started them dancing again. "I think we just gave them the moment they've been waiting for," she said, quietly.

Bill smiled. "Mission accomplished."

-----


	13. Chapter 13

Deception, Day 22 continued…

"And if the fleet won't accept its President and its Admiral together?" he asked her gently.

She cast her eyes downwards and sighed softly. "I shouldn't have to choose."

"No," he agreed quietly.

"It was frakking fine for President Adar to fr – " She stopped when the rest of the sentence completed in her head and she noticed what she was saying. She rubbed a hand across her eyes. "Gods, when I look back on that now, it's like that wasn't even me."

"Ah," Bill said, "The elusive fourth life of Laura Roslin."

She lifted her head to laugh, and let out another sigh. "I know I'm the President of the Colonies, but would it be completely inappropriate for me to throw a tantrum over how unfair this is?"

Bill laughed, but shook his head. "You're not going to throw a tantrum. It was bad enough when a two-year-old Lee did that. I can't have a grown woman flailing her arms about and stamping her feet…"

He stopped when she was genuinely smiling.

"I get the picture."

"Good."

"I should go – " Except she realised she couldn't go back to Colonial One, as she had intended to say.

"You stay here. I'll use the guest quarters."

"Oh no, I can't – "

"Laura, if we must, we can argue about this tomorrow. But for the rest of today, my quarters are yours… I'll go to CIC in a few minutes anyway."

She nodded once. "Okay… But tomorrow we argue."

"After a night in the guest quarters, I'll probably be up for that," he joked. "I'll just gather a few things and then I'll leave you alone. It's been a long day for you."

"Yeah." She caught hold of his hand as he started to move away. "Bill… Thank you."

He stepped towards her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You don't need to," he said, then he pressed his lips to her forehead in a tender kiss… And it took all the willpower she possessed not to raise her head and kiss him back.

-----


	14. Chapter 14

Deception, Day 11…

As predicted, the press did not want to ask questions about the latest supply issues, or maintenance plans, all they wanted to focus on was yesterday's Colonial Fleet Day celebrations. And, even then, they didn't want to know if Laura felt it had been a fleet-wide success, or if children on board the Rising Star had enjoyed themselves. No surprise there. No, the only newsworthy topic was the President's dance with Admiral Adama – oh, and their late arrival.

"Is it true that you and Admiral Adama snuck into a storage room for a quick encounter before the party?"

"Is there any truth to the rumour that the pause in your dancing was because Adama had just asked you to marry him?"

"You and the Admiral were looking very cosy last night, are we to take this as indication that the rumours about the two of you are true?"

Laura raised her hands to stop them. "Okay… Okay… I really thought you'd have learned by now that if you all shout at once I can't possibly distinguish each and every question." The room settled down and Laura was glad to be able to return her voice to normal. "I am, however, getting better, and I think I managed to isolate three that time. I couldn't identify whose they are though, so I'll just relay them back… Is it true that the Admiral and I snuck into a storage room for a quick 'encounter' before the party?… No. That is not true. We went to the storage room to retrieve a bottle of wine to give to Captain Thrace… Is there any truth to the rumour that the pause in our dancing was because the Admiral asked me to marry him?… No. I can assure you that did not happen then, or at any other time, last night, or any other day since Admiral Adama and I met… We were looking very cosy last night, should you take this as indication that the rumours are true? Well if that refers to the same rumour as the previous question, then obviously, no."

Several hands began to raise, Laura waved them down again.

"If, however, you're referring to the rumours that the Admiral and I are more than just good friends, then… yes."

And everyone shouted simultaneously again.

-----


	15. Chapter 15

Deception, Day 29…

"In the early hours of this morning, twenty-one people were arrested, across the fleet, for plotting to overthrow the government," Laura relayed to the press, from her statement. "The arrests were made as a result of a joint investigation between my security and a military team provided by the Galactica, after I began to receive hate and threatening mail several weeks ago. The letters began by suggesting that I was too close to the military, later implying that I was specifically too close to Admiral Adama, and escalated to threats on my safety if I chose to remain President…"

"Is this the real reason you stepped down?"

Laura decided to follow the interruption, rather than continue with the prepared statement.

"Indirectly, yes… All the letters were anonymous, and there was absolutely no indication of where the investigating team should start looking. As such, a plan was put in place to draw them out. My resignation was staged as part of this process… The Quorum and Vice President Zarek were involved, and were in agreement that the deception was the only way to deal with the situation… And, as you can see, it was successful."

"You lied to the entire fleet?"

Laura inwardly cringed at how accusatory that sounded. "Some deception was necessary to prevent this group from carrying out any of their threats. My resignation, Vice President Zarek's swearing in ceremony, the launch of the election process and the extent of my relationship with Admiral Adama were staged, to let the terrorists think they were getting their own way."

"The extent of your relationship?"

Of course, they would go for that one first. "Yes. It was deemed necessary to provoke the group, and therefore rumours of the Admiral's and my deepening relationship were circulated."

"And there will be no election?"

"The election process was begun as part of the act to identify the perpetrators through the candidate they informed me they had who would be better suited to the Presidency… However…" Laura could feel the eyes of Tory and Bill on the back of her head as she began the part of her conference she hadn't told them about. "I meant what I said about understanding that this government has not had an elected leader since President Baltar, and I will therefore ask the Quorum to consider that the election should still go ahead."

Multiple voices assaulted her at once.

"One at a time," she iterated slowly. "Playa?"

"Will you be running in the election?"

Laura smiled. "Yes I will… I vowed to lead this people, and I intend to do so. However, I understand that all of the recent deception will have made people uneasy, and I would like to ensure that those who do not have confidence in my government have the opportunity to vote for an alternative in which they will feel secure… It will also enable those who cannot feel confident in a President who is involved in a personal relationship with the military commander, to vote for an alternative."

The reaction from the press was a mixture of smiles, frowns and murmurs.

"I'm sorry, Madam President," Matthews spoke up, "Could you clarify as to whether your personal relationship with Admiral Adama genuinely exists or not?"

Laura smiled again, nervously wondering what Bill was thinking, standing just two feet behind her, hearing most of this for the first time. "Ask me again tomorrow," she told the reporter.

-----


	16. Chapter 16

Deception, Day 14…

"Phew, they are not impressed," Saul exclaimed after reading the latest batch of letters received by the President's office.

"No, they're not," Laura affirmed. "But they haven't tried anything."

"People are so rarely disappointed that no one has tried to assassinate them," Bill observed.

"I'm disappointed because our plan has come to a standstill… Do we just carry on pretending, and wait forever?"

"You could resign," Saul suggested. "Give them what they want."

"I hope that's a joke," Bill warned.

"No, we could stage your resignation – "

"Don't be absurd!"

"No, Bill," Laura said evenly, placing her hand on Bill's arm to calm him down. "I want to hear this."

"Their ultimate goal is to remove you from power. They've demanded your resignation… You've given no indication that you've read their letters, or that you've even received them, and so far you've ignored their instructions. You can easily resign without it appearing to be terrorist pressure, and they'll think you've finally seen sense, because you're trying to avoid them making good on their threats. There's an election, this suitable candidate of theirs surfaces, and we can hunt them down…"

"But if she resigns, Zarek assumes the Presidency," Bill pointed out.

"Obviously the Quorum and Zarek would have to be involved – "

"There hasn't been an elected President since Baltar," Laura said, "It's plausible that Zarek would agree to their being an election, to give the people what they want."

"You're seriously considering this?" Bill asked.

"It's not going to be real. And I think it will work… I'll have Tory run some polls regarding fleet opinion on our relationship, and we can claim the data from that is the reason I'm standing down."

"You've gone insane," Bill muttered, getting up and walking over to his drinks area.

"Must be spending too much time with you," Laura retorted.

-----


	17. Chapter 17

Deception, Day 29

Immediately after the press conference…

"You really have gone insane," Bill said as he and Laura walked into her office.

Tory followed them in, but Laura sent her away before her aide could even utter one word of the likely millions of questions and comments that she had.

"The extra weeks with you will have clinched it," she quipped in response to Bill.

"You don't want to lose the Presidency, Laura – "

"And hopefully I won't."

"Hopefully you-- Hopefully you won't? Do I need to remind you _who_ happened last time you allowed an election to take place?"

Laura frowned at Bill's attitude. She had effectively just declared her love for him in front of the entire fleet and now he was lecturing her. "So I'm responsible for Baltar because I try to uphold democracy?"

"You are President of this fleet. It doesn't work with anyone else."

"We don't know that. Just because the only other person ever given the opportunity completely frakked it up, it doesn't mean there's no one else out there who could do just as well as I can, if not better."

"We're perfectly fine with what we have."

"That's not our decision to make, Bill. We can't leave me in power indefinitely because we work well together… I'm trying to do the right thing here. Good President or not, I've just been part of a four week conspiracy to deceive my people! I can't expect them just to ignore that. I'm showing them that they can trust me."

"And if they vote you out?"

"I'll go back to teaching again."

"And you'd be okay with that?"

"I'd have to be… And I don't see why we're arguing about this. There's nothing you can do about it now anyway."

"You haven't spoken to the Quorum yet."

"They'll have heard a broadcast by now."

"Damnit, Laura! You don't have to have an answer for everything!"

"In my office I'll have as many answers as I want! Now tell me why we're really arguing or get the hell off my ship!"

He moved to leave but had stopped even before the hand she was reaching out to stop him made contact. He slowly turned to face her and two pairs of contrite eyes met.

"I won't let you risk all this for me," he told her, steadily.

"That's quite an egotistical thing to say – " she reacted quietly.

"Laura… I'm serious."

"So am I," she whispered, stepping closer to him. "I'm not risking it all for you, Bill. I'm risking it for the fleet, and for me… I do believe that the people need to feel they've got a leader they put there… And I need… Well, I need you."

"You don't need me – "

"Well, I want you," she told him, lightly resting her hands on his chest. "I've spent four weeks pretending I want you when we're in company, and then pretending I don't when we're alone. It's usually the other way round, and it's been incredibly confusing and absolutely frustrating," she giggled, and pressed herself even closer to Bill.

Eventually his hands came up and rested on her hips and he seemed to relax into the conversation.

Laura smiled demurely. "So, what should I tell Matthews when he asks me again tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.

He simply looked at her for a moment, and his eyes softened. "Tell him your private life will remain just that."

Her giggles this time were silenced by his lips softly covering hers and delighting them with a tender kiss. It was slow, it was sweet, it was Bill and it was…

"About frakking time!"

They separated, reluctantly, and turned to face Tom Zarek who was standing in the doorway with a grin on his face.

"Finally some gossip for 'Zs With Zarek'!"

"We're busy, Tom," Laura said dismissively.

"The Quorum said they don't want an election."

"What?" Her shock pulled her away from Bill.

"They move for a vote of confidence in you… You pass, you remain President. You fail, they'll run an election and you'll have to do some serious campaigning to change the people's minds. I doubt it'll come to that though…. I said I'd bring you the good news."

"Good news? How is it good that the Quorum won't do – "

"Laura," Bill stopped her. "Your line is 'Thank you, Tom. See you tomorrow.'"

Her eyes met Bill's and she smiled, not bothering to look back at Zarek as she said, "Thank you, Tom. See you tomorrow."

She heard Tom laugh and then leave and she stepped back into Bill's arms. "But they won't do as I ask – "

This kiss was more forceful, more passionate, more promising.

But, most importantly, it was completely real.

THE END


End file.
